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South Sudanese rebels demand compensation to release Kenyan pilots

Tuesday January 23 2018

Members of the White Army, a South Sudanese anti-government militia, attend a rally in Nasir on April 14, 2014. Two Kenyan pilots are being held by rebels in the country after a plane crash-landed killing a civilian. PHOTO FILE | AFP

In Summary

South Sudanese rebels are holding two Kenyan pilots when their plane crashed killing a civilian.

The plane crashed in Akobo, in the Greater Upper Nile region, two weeks ago.

The plane had a technical problem. It crash-landed and killed a person on the ground.

South Sudanese rebels are holding two Kenyan pilots and will not release them until compensation is paid to the family of a civilian killed when their plane crashed, a rebel spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday.

“When the plane crashed, it took a life. There was a lady that was killed and also there were some animals killed. The relatives of the lady and the owners of the cows are complaining they want compensation,” he said.

“They (Kenyan leaders) have to write an official letter to Dr Riek Machar and it will come to us to inform of an order, then we will release him.”

Machar, the country’s former vice president, is the head of the largest rebel faction but has been held under house arrest in South Africa since 2016.

South Sudan’s military spokesman confirmed the two pilots were being held.